tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78796469686290599692017-07-29T02:31:29.234-07:00All's fair with pen and paper...Escaping my reality to write someone else'sDiananoreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-12076962796241271472013-05-20T10:09:00.003-07:002013-05-20T10:09:40.852-07:00Check out my new blog home!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/images/moving%20truck" target="_blank"><img alt="moving truck photo: moving truck moving_truck1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x174/MeMurf/moving_truck1.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center">﻿</div>This will probably be the last post I do here. I love each and every one of my followers and I would be absoultely thrilled if you followed me at my new address: <a href="http://dianamlong.wordpress.com/">http://dianamlong.wordpress.com</a>. I made this move because I really like Wordpress's format a lot better and I think it will benefit me more in the future. Hope to see you all there!<br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-38294623728561914902013-04-24T21:23:00.001-07:002013-04-24T21:23:29.483-07:00Dealing with 'Writer's Block'As I struggled to decide what I should post about, I had a brilliant idea of writing about what to do when you can’t write! All of us at some point or another have frozen with our fingers curled over the keyboard, twitching this way and that, trying to decide which combination of letters, numbers, and/or punctuation to punch in. The common term for this is ‘writer’s block’. For some it can last minutes, others days, weeks, months, etc. I decided to hit the dictionary to see what the how writer’s block is described. Here’s what I found:<br /><em>*Merriam-Webster.com</em><br /><div id="headword"><h5>writer’s block</h5><h5><em>noun</em></h5></div><div><h5><strong>Definition of <em>WRITER’S BLOCK</em></strong></h5><div><strong>:</strong> a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece</div><div><strong>First Known Use of <em>WRITER’S BLOCK</em></strong></div><div>1950</div><div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" scale="0" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3040/2987926396_87eb3c3494_m.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/2987926396/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo Credit: Rennett Stowe via Flickr</span></a> </span></div><div></div><div>So, pretty much it’s all in our heads. It’s like there’s some evil witch in our head that closes the door to the world that is trying to make its way out of us. It’s the evil witch that locks Rapunzel up in the tower and refuses to let us rescue her. Why does this happen? What are we to do?</div><div></div><div>Sometimes I lose perspective on a story if I’m concentrating on it too much. I need to step back and take a break. I need to let the evil witch let her guard down while I get juiced up and can break through her wall of thorns surrounding the castle.</div><div></div><div>Other times, the evil witch will drop you on the outside of a maze with the castle in the middle. Your story starts flowing as you go through the twists and turns. Then you face plant into a dead in. Do you give up? Heck no! You go back and see where you/your story took a wrong turn and try a different approach.</div><div></div><div>You keep going and going, until you get to the end and save Rapunzel. Or, in my case, some super sexy guy with a few tattoos that was only kept from me because of… Whoa, sorry. Got caught up in the moment there. You get the point. Don’t let writer’s block kick your butt, kick back and eventually you’ll get through.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>*<em>Don't forget to follow me at my new address: <a href="http://www.dianamlong.wordpress.com/">http://www.dianamlong.wordpress.com</a> </em></div><div></div><div><a href="http://dianamlong.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/signature1.png"><img alt="Signature" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-167" height="63" originalw="640" scale="1.5" src="http://dianamlong.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/signature1.png?w=640" width="131" /></a></div><div>&nbsp;</div></div>Diananoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-83082413065318243922013-04-19T06:30:00.000-07:002013-04-19T06:30:01.686-07:00Fun Friday #1I often received inspiration from my family that I think, "hmm...how can I work this into writing/reading?". In honor of them, I've decided to start Fun Fridays. It will be exactly what it says: 'fun' and on 'Fridays'.<br /><div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><em>This first post is thanks to my baby sister, Laura.</em></div><div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-mce-src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/524619_569171319764161_1776122565_n.jpg" data-mce-style="width: 168px;" height="157" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/524619_569171319764161_1776122565_n.jpg" style="width: 168px;" width="184" /></div><div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">Like me, she's addicted to reading. While reading a paranormal book that involved a girl finding out that her boyfriend was a werewolf, she scoffed at the girl's reaction and said:</div><div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><em>"If I found out my boyfriend was a werewolf, my first thought would be, 'Crap! How many times have they smelled or heard my silent farts? Or heard my belly gurgle while I'm digesting?'."</em></div><div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><em></em>Yes, guys, she is single. And 19, so she's legal. If you're interested, leave an email in the comments and I'll send you her number. ;)</div><div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">So, for my first Fun Friday, here's your question:</div><div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #339966;" style="color: #339966;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #339966;" style="color: #339966;">What would your first reaction be if you found out your boyfriend/girlfriend was a werewolf?</span></div><div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #339966;" style="color: #339966;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #339966;" style="color: #339966;"><em><span style="color: #cc0000;">*Don't forget to follow my new blog. The link is over here. ====&gt;</span></em></span></div><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-49017875782355572962013-04-17T06:30:00.000-07:002013-04-17T06:30:04.277-07:00Character NamesComing up with names for your characters is important. <a href="http://dianamlong.wordpress.com/blog/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to go to my new blog where I'm discussing different things you should take into account when naming your characters, as well as linking to my favorite sites.<br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-5223377605881645992013-04-15T15:32:00.002-07:002013-04-15T15:48:36.324-07:00Fictional BoyfriendsEveryone has one. Or two. Or twenty. Whatever your number is, join the club. This post was sparked by a pretty sweet facebook page I found the other day called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/AbkwhrsO?fref=ts" target="_blank"><em>A Book Whore’s Obsession</em></a>. What the two moderators do, is find pictures of super hot guys and pair them with their super hot literary doppelgangers. It’s all in good fun, you may agree with who they pick, you may disagree. Either way, there’s drool-worthy guys and drool-worthy quotes to go with them.<br />Alright, time to lay the cards on the table. Who is your favorite literary crush? I’ll go first. Mine is Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. I was in love/lust with him <em>waaaaay</em> before the TV show came out. I loved his bad boy persona and sexy attitude. When Ian Somerhalder was chosen to play him on the TV show, my obsession started all over again. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H3fgHnBXfqs/UWyDlR7v9KI/AAAAAAAAAdM/6Cg6Ex2lHoA/s1600/Damon-medium_8568399991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H3fgHnBXfqs/UWyDlR7v9KI/AAAAAAAAAdM/6Cg6Ex2lHoA/s320/Damon-medium_8568399991.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94154077@N02/8568399991/">Rico Predador</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com/">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a></div></div><br />This is a writing blog, so let’s tie this into writing. When writing about your lead hero, how do you make him swoon worthy enough to become somebody’s next fictional boyfriend? Do you make him sweet and caring? Sexy and tormented by his past? Chiseled abs and a brain to match? I personally prefer my literary hunks to be bad boys with some sort of issue that the heroine needs to help him get past. (Think <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/395871.The_Awakening_and_The_Struggle?ac=1" target="_blank">TVD</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10818853-fifty-shades-of-grey?ac=1" target="_blank">50 Shades</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15206714-strength" target="_blank">Strength</a>) How about you?<br /><br /><em>*Don't forget to check the sidebar =====&gt; for the link to my new blog!!</em><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-50987881002975683692013-04-11T11:09:00.003-07:002013-04-11T11:09:32.354-07:00My Favorite Quote<br /><em>There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. - <strong>Maya Angelou</strong></em><br /><br />I love this quote. It's even the screen saver on my desktop. Those who aren't writers probably won't understand the truth behind this statement. Those of us who are... well, you know what I'm talking about. <br /><br />A story may start off as something small; a dream, a commercial you saw on tv, a pin on Pinterest. Then it slowly begins to build and build, until it's a whirling tornado of a whole other world inside of you, begging to get out. It occupies your mind during lunch meetings, while you're doing the dishes, while you sleep. It keeps crawling its way to the front of your subconcious until you finally give and pour your soul out on paper. <br /><br />You get so enthralled in the demands of your characters, their problems, their joys. They won't stop hounding you until you've given them closure. They want the world to know what they're going through and you're the only one who can translate for them.<br /><br />What's your favorite quote?<br /><br /><em>*Don't forget to follow me at my <a href="http://dianamlong.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">new address</a>! I will no longer be posting on this one beginning May 18, 2013!</em><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-9935050665239165142013-04-07T23:34:00.000-07:002013-04-07T23:34:00.408-07:00I'm moving! Blogs, that is...Blogger or WordPress? The biggest decision in every new blogger's life. At first I started out with blogger (obviously), but the more I looked at blogs using WordPress, the more I liked the clean lines and set up. After researching about the pros and cons of both, I've decided to go to WP. It's definitely different than Blogger, but still pretty easy to navigate, especially with the power of Google at my fingertips. I wish there was a way to just transfer all of my sweet followers over, but I'm stumped. If you know a way, let me know. For now, I'm just going to double post here and at my new WP blog for a while and leave the link to WP for you to follow over there. I appologize for the inconvenience, but I hope to see you all over there!<br /><br /><a href="http://dianamlong.wordpress.com/">http://dianamlong.wordpress.com</a><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-57744345186420052342013-03-20T11:34:00.000-07:002013-03-20T11:34:08.880-07:00I have some exciting news!Hey all! I'm back once again. How has everyone been? No, really, I'd love to hear. That's what the comment section is for. I've posted before about how much I love the blossoming New adult category and my favorite go-to blog for all things related to it. (<a href="http://naalley.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">NA Alley</a>, just in case some of you forgot.) Mid-January, the girls posted that they'd be sadly losing one of their members, but they were looking for a couple of new ones. They wanted to find a new contributor to the blog and a coordinator for their social media. Since you and I both know that my ability to be consistent with blogging is a complete work in progress, I applied to the coordinator position. After a few weeks, they said they would make a decision by March 22. Pushing it to the back of my mind so I wasn't constantly obsessing about it the next few weeks, I had almost forgotten about it until Monday. It was my anniversary (7 <em>wonderful</em> years if you wanted to know), and I was checking my email. There was an email from NA Alley and I saw a 'congratulations' in the first few teaser sentances my phone shows. I clicked on it and saw that I had been picked for coordinator. I showed it to my husband and did&nbsp;a little happy dance around the kitchen. I had to keep it a secret for <em>two whole days</em>! Well, one and a half, technically. You can see my little bio and picture proving I'm not making all this up <a href="http://naalley.blogspot.com/2013/03/announcing-our-new-members.html" target="_blank">here</a>. They ended up choosing two new contributors, a coordinator (me!), and a librarian. Go check us new people out! New Adult is awesome!<br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-49329714862730534732013-03-08T21:50:00.001-08:002013-03-08T21:50:21.025-08:00It's finally here! STRENGTH by Carrie ButlerAs of March 7, 2013, Carrie Butler's New Adult novel <em>Strength</em> is available for anyone and everyone to buy! I highly suggest you do. Why? Well, check out my review <a href="http://dianamlong.blogspot.com/2013/01/book-review-strength-by-carrie-butler.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Here's all the information about <em>Strength</em> and Carrie and were you can find both of them.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ky_u-DWopnE/UNYmgHZPSKI/AAAAAAAAB9M/-81GqG6vAAc/s1600/STRENGTH_PARTY_Sidebar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ky_u-DWopnE/UNYmgHZPSKI/AAAAAAAAB9M/-81GqG6vAAc/s1600/STRENGTH_PARTY_Sidebar.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: #e69138;"></span></b>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gRMClE31lE0/UEl82u4Rm8I/AAAAAAAABP0/5EiZ7a2Ar8M/s1600/STRENGTH_Cover_72ppi.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gRMClE31lE0/UEl82u4Rm8I/AAAAAAAABP0/5EiZ7a2Ar8M/s200/STRENGTH_Cover_72ppi.png" width="132" /></a><b>&nbsp;&nbsp; </b><b>&nbsp;Title: </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Strength</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Series: </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Mark of Nexus – Book 1</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Publisher</b>: <a href="http://sapphirestarpublishing.com/" target="_blank">Sapphire Star Publishing</a>&nbsp; <b>&nbsp;</b><b>Category</b>: New Adult (NA) <b>Genre</b>: Paranormal Romance (PNR) <b>Release Date</b>: March 07, 2013</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Available at:<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Carrie-Butler/dp/1938404351" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white;">Amazon</span></a><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Mark-of-Nexus-ebook/dp/B00BPJOGUK" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white;">Kindle</span></a><span style="background-color: white;">, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strength-carrie-butler/1114599832?ean=9781938404351&amp;isbn=9781938404351" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strength-carrie-butler/1114599832?ean=2940016207674" target="_blank">Nook</a>, Sony Reader Store, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo, Diesel, and Baker &amp; Taylor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b66432; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-size: large;"><b>About STRENGTH</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period. Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few minor setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety… Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family. They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re <i><span style="font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">really</span></i> in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" /></a></div><center><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #1d3da3; font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">Book Trailer</span></span></span></span></b></span></center><center><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #1d3da3; font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></b></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G6Ym7sk3zjo" width="500"></iframe></center></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #1d3da3; font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"> <span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;">About the Author:</span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-99MHDcweR3A/USFNk5B69II/AAAAAAAACTw/Sb0jiPkzcyE/s1600/Carrie_2012_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-99MHDcweR3A/USFNk5B69II/AAAAAAAACTw/Sb0jiPkzcyE/s200/Carrie_2012_01.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #1d3da3; font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;">&nbsp;</span></b></span>Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</span></b> </div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Where to find Carrie:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.carrieabutler.com/index.html" target="_blank">WEBSITE</a>&nbsp; | &nbsp;<a href="http://soyoureawriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">BLOG</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; <a href="http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/carriebutler" target="_blank">PUBLISHER</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; <a href="https://twitter.com/CarrieAButler" target="_blank">TWITTER</a> &nbsp;| &nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/carrieabutler" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a> &nbsp;| &nbsp;<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/carriebutler" target="_blank">GOODREADS</a> &nbsp;| &nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/108376009959639674819" target="_blank">GOOGLE+</a></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Where to find <i>Strength</i>:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.carrieabutler.com/strength-book-1.html" target="_blank">BOOK PAGE</a>&nbsp; |&nbsp; <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15206714-strength" target="_blank">GOODREADS</a>&nbsp; |&nbsp; <a href="http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/strength" target="_blank">PUBLISHER</a>&nbsp; |&nbsp; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strength/504376466256381" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a>&nbsp; |&nbsp; <a href="http://pinterest.com/writer/strength-quotes/" target="_blank">PINTEREST</a>&nbsp; |&nbsp; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Ym7sk3zjo" target="_blank">BOOK TRAILER</a></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koXre_Uf30Y/USFNVb1dI0I/AAAAAAAACTo/lWzqyPS86XA/s1600/Blog_Divider.png" /></a></div></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">GIVEAWAY</span></span></span></b><br /><center><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f19c445/" id="rc-f19c445" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script></center></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">&nbsp;</span></o:p></b></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></v:shapetype></div><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-68764498328461383782013-03-04T05:00:00.000-08:002013-03-04T05:00:11.034-08:00Book Review: Ever by Jessa Russo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ever (Ever, #1)" height="320" id="coverImage" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346073398l/13625388.jpg" width="213" /></div><br /><br /><em>Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.<br /><br />Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.<br /><br />Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.<br /><br />Some girls lose their hearts to love.<br /><br />Some girls lose their minds.<br /><br />Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong><u>My Thoughts:</u></strong><br /><br />I loved how Jenna Russo portrayed Ever. She's sweet, innocent, and slightly insecure, but her insecurities didn't rule her life. She acknowledged them, but seemed okay with them at the same time. Her best friend always wore pink, so I couldn't help but love her! Toby, the sexy, older, bad boy had a sweet and mysterious side to round him out. The one main character I had a hard time really liking was Frankie, the ghostly love of Ever's life. He seemed sweet and I can understand her having a hard time letting go of him since he never really left, but I was on Team Toby the whole way. The bomb dropped at the end was awesome! I love being totally shocked at the end of a story. Can't wait for the next installment of Ever's story!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CR8N8QYkjvA/URCagrx0w4I/AAAAAAAAAaY/R1i0EIWsTN8/s1600/star-pink-icon.png" /><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CR8N8QYkjvA/URCagrx0w4I/AAAAAAAAAaY/R1i0EIWsTN8/s1600/star-pink-icon.png" /><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CR8N8QYkjvA/URCagrx0w4I/AAAAAAAAAaY/R1i0EIWsTN8/s1600/star-pink-icon.png" /><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CR8N8QYkjvA/URCagrx0w4I/AAAAAAAAAaY/R1i0EIWsTN8/s1600/star-pink-icon.png" /></div><div align="center">﻿</div><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></div>Diananoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-35799663640231321542013-02-05T05:00:00.000-08:002013-02-05T05:00:09.139-08:00Cover Reveal: Destiny Gift by Juliana Haygert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FL-DWwms1OE/URCShBJ_pnI/AAAAAAAAAaI/rDr-ug0h_XM/s1600/DestinyGift+-+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FL-DWwms1OE/URCShBJ_pnI/AAAAAAAAAaI/rDr-ug0h_XM/s400/DestinyGift+-+front.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Thirty years in the future, a sinister New York City exists in permanent darkness.<br /><br />A student at the secured NYU, nineteen-year-old Nadine has visions of Victor Gianni, an imaginary guy she has real feelings for. Afraid of being truly insane, she explains the visions away as simple daydreams, but she can no longer deny them when she bumps into Victor in real life. But this Victor doesn’t know her, and turns her away. After the encounter, Nadine’s visions change to those of eerie fates, gods she’s never heard of, demons with sharp claws they are not too timid to use … and instructions.<br /><br />To discover if she’s losing her mind, Nadine follows the vague directions—with the real, rude and reluctant Victor—leading to a man who knows it all: Nadine can restore an ancient creed by unveiling the clues on her visions, and bring sunlight and peace to the world again. But that’s only if the demons and the other evil forces behind the darkness don’t stop her first.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em></em>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Release Date: </strong>April 9, 2013</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Cover Design: </strong><a href="http://okaycreations.net/site/" target="_blank">Okay Creations</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16217699-destiny-gift" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/41997-destiny-gift" target="_blank">Giveaway</a></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong></strong>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vyZqWQghAZA/URCSgV5r9zI/AAAAAAAAAaA/aCWeMlaEGEI/s1600/Juliana+Haygert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vyZqWQghAZA/URCSgV5r9zI/AAAAAAAAAaA/aCWeMlaEGEI/s200/Juliana+Haygert.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div><b>Juliana Haygert </b></div><div>While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.julianahaygert.com/" target="_blank">Website&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6609948.Juliana_Haygert" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/juhaygert" target="_blank">Facebook</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Juliana_Haygert" target="_blank"> Twitter</a></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-31884135456967638622013-02-04T20:56:00.002-08:002013-02-04T20:57:43.905-08:00Cover Reveal: The Space Between by Vitctoria H. Smith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><em>*I appologize for the late post of this lovely New Adult cover. The flu hit our house and hit me the hardest! Lovely cover Victoria, can't wait until&nbsp;April 2!</em>﻿</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xom_ZYAsmy4/URCMyAbp8VI/AAAAAAAAAZg/dAzNf0E4Hh4/s1600/The+Space+Between-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xom_ZYAsmy4/URCMyAbp8VI/AAAAAAAAAZg/dAzNf0E4Hh4/s400/The+Space+Between-Cover.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>When Drake started the night at his father’s campaign fundraiser, he never imagined he’d end it being conned into buying drugs on the West Side. Losing high-stakes poker has its consequences, but he’d repeatedly face them just to hear Lacey Douglas sing. Drake sees Lacey light up the stage, and he has to have her. But his intentions for being on her side of town turn out to be the reason he can’t. <o:p></o:p></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em> </em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>Chicago native Lacey has dreams of the opera, but life has its obstacles. Lacey has come to know her hardships as part of living in the real world and accepts them fully. When Lacey meets the intense and invigorating Drake, a fire is lit inside her, unleashing those dreams again.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em> </em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>Two paths that should have never crossed prove to create the exact pairing the other needs. But when their worlds take time to catch up, everything they have is tested. Finding the space between the two sides that challenge them<span style="color: red;"> </span>will be hard, but it’s the only place that will keep them together.</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em></em></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>The Space Between<o:p></o:p></em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Victoria H. Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Expected release date:</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> April 2, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Genre:</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Contemporary Romance<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Age Group: </span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">New Adult<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cover Designer:</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <a href="http://okaycreations.net/site/" target="_blank">Okay Creations</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>Cover reveal organized by:</strong></span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://atomrbookblogtours.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">AToMR Tours</span></span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><o:p></o:p>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><o:p><strong><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16281159-the-space-between" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fAoUkmBxkF4%22" target="_blank">Book Trailer</a></strong></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><o:p><strong></strong></o:p>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yAGJ4-G6mw/URCPqTI0wNI/AAAAAAAAAZw/J3fj4wjuZvQ/s1600/Author+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yAGJ4-G6mw/URCPqTI0wNI/AAAAAAAAAZw/J3fj4wjuZvQ/s200/Author+Photo.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">Victoria H. Smith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She puts it to good use writing romance all day. She resides in the Midwest with her Macbook on her lap and a cornfield to her right. She often draws inspiration for her stories from her own life experiences, and the twenty-something characters she writes give her an earful about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="color: #131313; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In her free time, she enjoys extreme couponing, blogging, reading, and sending off a few tweets on Twitter when she can. She writes new adult fiction romance in the sub-genres of science fiction, urban fantasy, and contemporary, but really, anywhere her pen takes her she goes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Author Links:</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><a href="http://twentysomethingfictionwriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #093aca; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Blog</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #757575; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> | </span></b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaHSmith"><b><span style="color: #093aca; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Facebook</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #757575; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> | </span></b><a href="https://twitter.com/VictoriaSmith76" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #093aca; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Twitter</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #757575; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> | </span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6440255.Victoria_H_Smith" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #093aca; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Goodreads</span></b></a><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: black;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></div>Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-46997207047435759352013-01-21T12:57:00.000-08:002013-02-04T20:57:14.446-08:00Cover Reveal & Give Away: Blurred by Tara Fuller<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">﻿</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?saduie=AG9B_P8PzVLhafwXf7CIprsd1A8m&amp;attid=0.2&amp;disp=emb&amp;view=att&amp;th=13c4f283a7391418" width="266" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cash is haunted by things. Hungry, hollow things. They only leave him alone when Anaya, Heaven’s beautiful reaper, is around. Cash has always been good with girls, but Anaya isn’t like the others. She’s dead. And with his deteriorating health, Cash might soon be as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anaya never breaks the rules, but the night of the fire she recognized part of Cash’s soul—and doomed him to something worse than death. Cash’s soul now resides in an expired body, making him a shadow walker—a rare, coveted being that can walk between worlds. A being creatures of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The lines between life and death are blurring, and Anaya and Cash find themselves falling helplessly over the edge. Trapped in a world where the living don’t belong, can Cash make it out alive?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16129272-blurred" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blurred-Kissed-Death-Tara-Fuller/dp/162061085X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1358452006&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=Tara+Fuller" target="_blank"> Amazon</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blurred-tara-fuller/1113749206?ean=9781620610855" target="_blank">Barnes &amp; Noble</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Blurred-Tara-Fuller/9781620610855" target="_blank">The Book Depository</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong><u>About the Author:</u></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<span id=":7w"></span>&nbsp;<a class="e" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&amp;ik=c19ed98684&amp;view=att&amp;th=13c4f283a7391418&amp;attid=0.1&amp;disp=inline&amp;safe=1&amp;zw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="author pic 2.jpg" class="hv" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&amp;ik=c19ed98684&amp;view=att&amp;th=13c4f283a7391418&amp;attid=0.1&amp;disp=thd&amp;zw" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tara Fuller writes novels. Some about grim reapers​. Some about witches. All of course are delightfully full of teen angst and kissing. Tara grew up in a one stop light town in Oklahoma where once upon a time she stayed up with a flash light reading RL Stine novels and only dreamed of becoming a writer. She has a slight obsession with music and a shameless addiction for zombie fiction, Mystery Science Theater, and black and white mochas. Tara no longer lives in a one stop light town. Now she lives with her family in a slightly larger town in North<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Carolina where they have at least three stoplights.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id=":7u"></span><a href="http://www.tarafuller.com/" target="_blank">Website</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://tara-fuller.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://twitter.com/Tara25Fuller" target="_blank">Twitter</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tara25fuller" target="_blank">Facebook&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/KissedByDeath?fref=ts" target="_blank">Kissed by Death Facebook page</a>&nbsp;</div><br /><br />Want to be one of the first people to read Tara's newest installment in the Kissed by Death series? Enter to win an ARC of Blurred! *<em>ARC's are not ready yet, but as soon as they are, the winner will receive one.</em><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">&nbsp;</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">﻿</div><br /><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389b51/" id="rc-e2389b51" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-2699388174169834632013-01-17T21:12:00.001-08:002013-01-17T21:12:10.166-08:00Calling all bloggers and book reviewers!Do you blog?<br />Do you like to review books?<br />Do you feel super duper special reading and reviewing books <em>before</em> they release?<br /><br />If you answered 'yes' to all three questions, then Entangled Publishing needs you! They are compiling The List right now! Go to <a href="http://kateevangelistarandr.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/we-want-youto-be-part-of-list.html" target="_blank">Kate's blog</a> for all the instructions. May the odds be forever in your favor!<br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-90074553766573141152013-01-14T05:00:00.000-08:002013-02-04T20:57:43.907-08:00Book Review: Strength by Carrie Butler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Picture" height="400" src="http://www.carrieabutler.com/uploads/1/0/1/5/10157871/1974474.jpg?247" style="max-width: 100%; width: auto;" width="266" /></div><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Title: </span></strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;">STRENGTH<br /><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Series:</span></strong> Mark of Nexus - Book 1<br /><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Publisher:</span></strong> </span><a href="http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/strength" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><span style="color: blue;">Sapphire Star Publishing</span></span></a><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><br /><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Category:</span></strong> New Adult (NA)<br /><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Genre: </span></strong>Paranormal Romance (PNR)<br /><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Release Date: </span></strong>March 07, 2013</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><em> </em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><em>When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.<br /><br />Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…<br /><br />Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.<br /><br />They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re <span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">really</span> in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><u><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">About the Author:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><em>Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;">You know those books you can't put down once you start reading? The one you keep thinking about after you've finished? That's how <em>Strength</em> is for me. Tiny, spunky, college girl Rena and tortured, mysterious, Mr.Tall-Dark-and-Handsome Wallace had me sucked in from the beginning. I love how upfront Rena is and her hilarious one liners. Wallace is a perfect gentleman, sweet, generous, and sexy as heck. One thing that did surprise me about the book was the hunky hero's name. I don't know about you, but when I think of someone named Wallace, I don't think rippling abs. Thanks to Carrie Butler, that has changed. Wallace is now going on my 'sexy name' list! I love how Rena slowly falls for Wallace and doesn't just cling to him from the beginning and how Wallace tries to keep his distance, but still gives in like a normal red-blooded male. Too often love stories in the YA/NA category consist of the girl falling all over the guy and the guy being too stuck up for the girl. That's so not the case here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><strong>Overall Reaction:</strong> Loooooved it! Carrie Butler definitely knows how to write a story and I'm already anxious for the next book. (Which, according to her blog, she's working on now! *squeal*) This is definitely one to buy for the bookshelf. Have you seen the cover? Yum!</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><img src="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/klukeart/pink-gold/48/star-pink-icon.png" /><img src="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/klukeart/pink-gold/48/star-pink-icon.png" /><img src="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/klukeart/pink-gold/48/star-pink-icon.png" /><img src="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/klukeart/pink-gold/48/star-pink-icon.png" /><img src="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/klukeart/pink-gold/48/star-pink-icon.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></div>Diananoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-90398748057528148972013-01-07T21:43:00.002-08:002013-02-04T20:57:43.908-08:00New Adult: What's so great about it?I'm sure everyone in the world of writing has heard of New Adult. Some people, like myself, are all for it, while others roll their eyes and throw tomatoes and lettuce at the thought. If you're wondering what New Adult is exactly, the girls at NA Alley explains it perfectly. You can find the link <a href="http://naalley.blogspot.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">here</a>. They are my favorite go-to site for anything concerning New Adult. While they do have an awesome blog, I must confess I love following them on Twitter. Each of them are funny, witty, clever, and just downright awesome. Every Thursday they have a Twitter chat (is that even the correct term?) where anyone can join in and chat about the topic of the week. <br /><br />Back to my original topic, what's so great about New Adult? Well, here's my opinion on it. I love the innocence of a first kiss, the struggles of trying to find out who you are, and growth that takes place in YA books. I also love the steamier side that the Adult section brings out, the freedom of doing what you want, when you want, the confidence they seem to have. New Adult combines those two worlds. <br /><br />The main characters are on their own, but they don't have experience to yet rely on. They're old enough to fall in love without worrying about what others think, but is it worth it to stay with that one person or catch some other fish in the sea? No longer do they have to sneak out at night, park in back roads to steal a kiss or cop a feel, they can go to their own apartments without looking over their shoulders for Mom or Dad. They have all these new freedoms and liberties thrust upon them. It's exciting, over-whelming, and fun. They also have responsibility thrown at them. You want your own apartment while you're at college? Better find a job. You have a huge test in the morning but the party of the year is tonight. Mom isn't there to take the blame when you call your friends and tell them you can't go.<br /><br />It's the excitement of being an adult and trying to make your mark on the world. Mistakes are going to be made so lessons can be learned. Hearts will break, love will conquer all, anything can happen. The options are endless! I may also be a bit biased as I am in my mid-twenties, and in that New Adult stage where I'm still making mistakes to learn from. I don't consider myself an adult, but I know I've passed being a young adult (thank goodness!). <br /><br />If you're looking for some fun New Adult reads, Goodreads has several lists of NA books. You can also join the New Adults Reading Challenge group at Goodreads. Look for me if you do! I also just received an ARC of Strength by Carrie Butler, one of the sisters of NA Alley. Have you seen the cover of it? Sexy, shirtless, rippling abs. Oh, yeah, I'm totally excited to read it! Review to come on that soon. Just out of curiosity, how many of you read book reviews? <br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-54705315547640649402013-01-02T03:00:00.000-08:002013-02-04T20:59:27.731-08:00IWSG: Happy New Year!Hello all my fellow insecure writers! Who's ready for this new year? New deadlines, new stories, new heartbreaks, new loves. I'm hoping to begin the next step in my writer's journey this year. Querying. The goal is to write <em>The End </em>by Jan 31. Then it's onto editing. I've looked around at a few different agents and publishers and I'm already overwhelmed. So, I'm turning to my fellow writers. What are your favorite sites for looking up different agents? How many agents do you send to at a time? How do you deal with all the waiting?! To end this post on a happy note, I've decided to title my novel <em>Ripple</em>. What do you guys think? A brief synopsis can be found under my WIP's page.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-42183734608330413052012-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:002012-12-30T18:00:57.448-08:00Belated Merry Christmas, early Happy New Year!Hope the holidays were fun and safe for everyone! How many of you did Nano? I attempted, but failed. The story I was writing just wasn't speaking to me. I could get stuff out, but it was <em>sooo</em> boring! I did not want to associate writing with something boring and mandatory. On the upside, I had a whole month to sit back from my main novel. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. While I was away from my beloved characters, I was able to do some more plotting and outlining and get over my writer's block. Woo-hoo! I threw myself back in on December 1st and have made some headway. I also let two of my sisters read it. Talk about stress! The only people I have ever let read my writing have been complete strangers. While I am now critique partners with a few of those people and very much trust and appreciate their feedback, having two people I love read my story and offer their input was terrifying. If they said they hated it, I would feel like a total failure, hide out for a week, and stuff myself full of candy and pizza. Luckily, they loved it! They are both asking when they get to read more, which is motivation for me to get writing more.<br /><br />The New Year is peeking around the corner. Time for resolutions. Weight loss. Check. Exercise more. Check. Be totally awesome. Check. HaHa. Okay, in all seriousness, I hate New Year's resolutions. Tons of people make these empty promises to themselves or others, but as soon as the excitement is gone, aka Jan. 7, the resolutions are gone, too. As much as I hate them, I have already made two resolutions. One is to read 52 books this year and do book reviews on at least half of them. (<em>Little secret on me: I haven't done any book reviews since high school because I have no idea what I'm supposed to say.</em>) My second one is to finish my novel by the end of January. Not to the point where I'm ready to query it, but to the point that I can focus on editing it. Do you have any resolutions this year? What are they?<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /><br /><br />Diananoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-68742962310693303732012-10-29T14:29:00.004-07:002012-10-29T14:29:44.584-07:00Liebster Blog AwardI have been a naughty and absent blogger. Again. I've warned you all how unorganized I can be! While I was gone, Paula from <a href="http://authorscornerpaulakouman.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Pen 2 Paper</a> gifted me with the Liebster Blog&nbsp;Award. Isn't she the sweetest! Go check out her blog. I love how honest and honest and real she is!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zcMVBqV6YRY/UHsJAvIRXuI/AAAAAAAAAF0/oq_IWgHM0Mw/s1600/liebster+love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_qllrps="2" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zcMVBqV6YRY/UHsJAvIRXuI/AAAAAAAAAF0/oq_IWgHM0Mw/s1600/liebster+love.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are the rules for winning&nbsp;a Liebster Blog award:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1. Answer the presenter's 11 questions </div><div>2. Formulate 11 questions for them to answer</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. Plaster the award on your blog</div>4. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog<br />5. Link back to the blogger who awarded you<br />6. Copy &amp; Paste the award to your blog<br />7. Nominate 11 blogs that you enjoy to receive the award who have less than 200 followers<br />8. Inform them of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog<br /><br />Pretty simple, right? Let's get started!<br /><br />1.What monster would you choose to be for a Halloween costume?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">I would be a zombie faery!</span> <br /><br />2.What is the number one played song on your iPod?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">It's a tie between Apologize by Luke Bryan and Payphone and One More Night by Maroon 5.</span><br /><br />3.What chore do you hate doing?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">The dishes. Mainly pots and pans.</span><br /><br />4.If you could throw any kind of party (money is no object) what would it be?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">A masquerade ball! Complete with fancy dresses, venetian masks, waiters, etc.</span><br /><br />5.Which superpower would you pick if they were up for grabs?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">Super speed. Then&nbsp;I could get those darn dishes done quick!</span> <br /><br />6.What is your favorite holiday and why?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">Halloween. It's during my favorite season and has so many options. It can be fun, scary, silly, cute, whatever you want!</span><br /><br />7.What is one of your favorite quotes?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you. -Maya Angelou</span><br /><br />8.What is your favorite genre, reading and/or writing?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">Romance for both!</span><br /><br />9.What is your favorite day of the week and why?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">Saturday. It's the one day I can get my little family all to myself without work or anything else to interfere.</span><br /><br />10.What is your favorite month of the year? <br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">September. It's the beginning of Fall and my birth month.</span><br /><br />11.If you could have any talent in the whole world, which one would you choose?<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">I would love to be able to sing.</span><br /><span style="color: #a64d79;"></span><br /><span style="color: #a64d79;"></span><br /><span style="color: black;">Now for eleven other bloggers!</span><br /><br /><a href="http://21stcenturybluestockings.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-101-obvious-facts-of-riverside_26.html" target="_blank">21st Centure Bluestockings</a><br /><a href="http://deskoflaurastephenson.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">From the Desk of Laura Stephenson</a><br /><a href="http://hopelessya.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hopelessly Hopeful</a><br /><a href="http://iainspiration.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Iain's Inspiration</a><br /><a href="http://heathermbryant.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Into the Cuckoo's Nest</a><br /><a href="http://jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer Comeaux</a><br /><a href="http://lindseyfrydman.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lindsey Frydman</a><br /><a href="http://www.munchkinsandmanuscripts.com/" target="_blank">Munchkins and Manuscripts</a><br /><a href="http://muserantrave.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Muse, Rant, Rave</a><br /><a href="http://readisthenewblack.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Read is the New Black</a><br /><a href="http://readingforrefuge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Reading for Refuge</a><br /><br /><br />Be sure to check out these amazing bloggers! A few of them are even my critique partners, and let me tell you, they rock! Here are the questions they will be answering:<br /><br />1. What author inspired you to start writing?<br />2. If you could bring any one of your fictional boyfriends to life (I know you have one!) who would it be?<br />3. What's your favorite color and why?<br />4. What came first, the chicken or the egg?<br />5. Where would your ideal writing spot be?<br />6. What is your favorite type of pizza?<br />7. You're up for karaoke, what song do you sing?<br />8. Which power ranger would you have been?<br />9. What is your favorite book==&gt;movie/tv show?<br />10. What is your favorite paranormal being to read about?<br />11. What book are you currently reading?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-37758997821289514632012-10-29T13:19:00.000-07:002012-10-29T13:19:24.623-07:00Spooktoberfest!Candy corn, mini princesses, chocolate, pumpkins, tiny super heroes... Yup, it's my favorite time of year! It's Halloween! Dani of <a href="http://danibertrand.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Entertaining Interests</a> and Jackie of <a href="http://jackiefelger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bouquet of Books</a> have put together an exciting contest they have dubbed 'Spooktoberfest'. They gave us five (5) words we had to use in a 300 word flash fiction story. Here's my attempt:<br /><br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Sexy costume, sky high heels, smoky, mesmerizing eyes. I was ready for the annual Halloween Masquerade Ball that was held every year at the chicest club in the city. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>I put on my gold mask that was as light and lacy as <span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">cobwebs</span> when I exited the taxi. It was anonymity from here on out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The music was already bumping when I went in. <span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Ghosts</span> and ghouls were writhing against Arabian princesses. Frankenstein was leading a Playboy bunny to a dark corner. Everyone who was anyone was there, but no one knew who was who. Between the costumes and the masks, you couldn’t be sure who you were standing next to. That was the point of course, to be able to let go of your inhibitions and let your needs and desires out for one night. To be free without the rules and dictations of society to bring you down to reality.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Sporadically placed <span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">jack-o-lanterns </span>were brought to life with the glow of a candle. <span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Cauldrons</span> overflowed with fog, making the floor disappear. I steered clear of the Halloween themed drinks. You couldn’t let your senses be dulled in a place as seductive as this. The tempo of the music changed from energizing and blaring to smooth, slow, and mysterious.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Someone took my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. I looked up into the greenest eyes I had ever seen, surrounded by a solid black mask. His gaze was so intense, I felt as if he had used a<span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"> razor </span>to cut through and see into my soul. I let him mold himself to me&nbsp;as we swayed to the music. When the song finished, he took off his mask, revealing someone I never would have guessed in a million years.<o:p></o:p></span><br /> <br /><br />Well, there's a mysterious Halloween romance for all of you! Have a fun and safe holiday!<br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-92122418901809337682012-10-03T14:27:00.001-07:002013-02-04T20:59:27.734-08:00It's that time of month again... no, not that one!I know right where your mind went, but thankfully we're so not going to go there! It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" closure_uid_f7bsbj="2" height="170" qaa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSCzL3EBLIM/TlP7_1GFsnI/AAAAAAAABgQ/MoeDKBUOvYU/s200/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" width="200" /> Insecure Writers Support Group</a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is such a great group. I love getting encouragement from other writers and seeing that other people struggle with the same things I do. Although writing is usually a solitary thing, it's nice to know we're not alone out there. If you are one of my lovely followers, you've probably noticed I've been absent from here for a few weeks. If you're popping over here from somewhere else, welcome and now you know I'm a slacker. Wonderful first impression, isn't it? While I've been gone, here's what has happened:</div><ol><li>I celebrated my 25th birthday. Yay me, I'm a quarter of a century old. It was lots of fun. Hubby took the day off work, brought me 25 roses with presents from him and the kids. We took the kids out for a family date, then dropped them off with the inlaws so the hubby and I could have a date night. As our date night involved pizza, it was awesome.</li><li>My oldest had her first picture day at preschool. Not much of a milestone, but it was still exciting for us. She's had her outfit picked out for weeks.</li><li>The hubby is working&nbsp;on day shift&nbsp;for a couple of weeks, so we can actually have a social life again.</li><li>We took a leisurely drive up the colorful American Fork canyon. I love fall!</li></ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yeah, September was a fun month for us. That's the main reason I've been MIA around here. The other reason is... I'm not sure what to write about. My novels are coming along, but I'm talking about my blog. Whenever I do something, I research the heck out of it. Sewing, crocheting, being pregnant, planting a garden, you name it. I'll spend hours pouring over different websites to figure out the best way to do things and the different ways you can do them. Since this is my method, I did the same for blogging. Let me tell you, the only thing consistent in the how-to-blog blogs, was to post consistently. Some say write strictly about writing. Others say don't focus too much on the writing aspect. Then another will pop up and say 'whatever, just write about anything'. I like having some sort of idea of what to do. If I don't have a plan, I tend to get overwhelmed then shut down. That's what happened here. When I read a fellow writer's blog, I like to read a little of everything. Their day at the amusement park with the kids, writing advice, their struggles with their novel, book reviews. I could easily go on and on about the crazy things my kids do or why my MC is about ready to get her neck strangled by me. But writing advice? When do you get to that point that you can give writing advice? For now, I'm content just listening to the advice. What insecurities have been bothering you lately?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">﻿</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-87833718903527438432012-09-11T20:56:00.000-07:002012-09-11T20:56:07.068-07:00Tag! GUTGAA style!I was tagged by two wonderful women that I have met through GUTGAA, <a href="http://heatherriffle.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Heather Riffle</a> and <a href="http://www.staceynash.com/blog/" target="_blank">Stacey Nash</a>. Be sure to check out their&nbsp;tagged interviews.&nbsp;Wow, I haven't played tag in like.....okay, it was yesterday. I have a four year old and&nbsp;a two year old, so it happens often. Most of our versions involve a lot of screaming and running around. This probably won't. It's more of a I'm in the spotlight, then I tag someone else to be. If it does cause you to run around screaming, then please let me know! Or better yet, film it and show me! On to the fun stuff!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-403" height="200" originalw="500" scale="1.5" src="http://heatherriffle.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/tag.jpg?w=500" title="tag" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>What is the working title of your book?</strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">On my computer, it is filed under Faeries. It's about half a step up from Untitled. Hopefully the name will come to me soon!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">Where did the idea come from for the book?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">It came from the place almost my ideas come from, a dream. I really wish I can just film my dreams so I can watch them over and over. Some are pretty cool. Like the one I had about Adam Levine which ended up inspiring another novel.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">What genre does your book fall under?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">New Adult fantasy with romance sprinkled through. My MC starts out in college and turns twenty-one at the beginning of the book.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I haven't even thought about it to be honest. Hmmm.....I think for Brock, who is the sexy bad boy, I would go with Ian Somerhalder. For Soren, the super hot almost gentleman, I'd pick Jensen Ackles. For fun loving, over protective Bree, Isla Fischer. Sweet, calm Nessa: Amanda Seyfried. And for my MC Carra&nbsp;*drum roll* Mandy Moore or Hayden Panettierre. Whoo! Thank you Google images.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Twenty-one year old Carra discovers she is a very special, very rare faery, and is the key to preventing or starting a war between the fae.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">Will your book be self-published or represented by an agent?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I'm crossing my fingers (and eyes, toes, legs, hair) that it will be represented by an agent.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I'll have to get back to you on that, because I'm still not quite finished. I first started writing it November-ish of last year, got about a quarter of the way through and took a break because I was stuck. When I started it back up again February of this year, I scrapped it and started it from the beginning a couple times. My characters wanted to be older, more mature, and a little more self confident.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: black;">What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">It's a new world, one that I'm hoping people will fall in&nbsp;love with. There's pixies, elves, and mermaids. There's love, lust, manipulation, and a thirst for power. Piqued yet?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">Now it's time for me to tag someone. Excuse me while I stretch out my typing fingers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://lindseyfrydman.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lindsey Frydman</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://claredugmorewrites.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Clare Dugmore</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://heathermbryant.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Heather Bryant</a></div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">You're up ladies! </div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">﻿</div><div style="text-align: left;">﻿</div><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-87113863057807988462012-09-05T17:42:00.002-07:002013-02-04T20:59:27.733-08:00Insecure WednesdaySorry to those of you who have stopped over from IWSG and didn't have a post to read! It's great to mee you though! I've been putting off getting on the computer today, because I know that when I do, I need to work on my WIP. Well, duh, of course I do, but I'm sorta stuck. Shocking, I know. Does this ever happen to you? Are things going along great then all of a sudden your characters look at you and say, "There is no way I'm going to do what you think you want me to do." Or even worse, you have no idea what you want them to do next? I'm at the latter of the crossroads right now. My MC is stuck between two guys, but not sure if I should have her leaning towards one or the other right now. *Sigh* If my wonderful critique partners are reading this, you know who I'm talking about. HELP ME!!! Okay, I'm good now.<br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-60950675391412537422012-09-03T05:00:00.000-07:002012-09-03T05:00:12.785-07:00Getting to know you....GUTGAA meet & greetHey all that are stopping by from GUTGAA! If you're not, click the linky on my side bar ----&gt; and sign up! So, a little about me. I'm so glad Deana poster a list of questions, because I'm never quite sure what to say about myself. <br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-Where do you write?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Usually at my desktop in the front room. Occasionally I will try finger pecking on the iPad if my kids are insistent that I watch TV with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">My son’s toy truck that plays ‘Funky Town’. </span><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-Favorite time to write?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After my husband leaves for work. By then, the kids are fed and off playing, so I can have some alone time. For about five minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-Drink of choice while writing?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Either water or Squirt. If it’s been a rough day, then Squirt in a wine glass. Hey, it’s the thought that counts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I can work either way most of the time. If a scene is being particularly difficult, then I’ll hit up Pandora and pick a station to help set the mood.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-What was your inspiration for your latest&nbsp;manuscript&nbsp;and where did you find it?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The two that I am working on right now both came from dreams. My most recent one came from a dream involving Adam Levine from Maroon 5. No, it was not “one of those” kind of dreams!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 9pt;"><span style="color: #353535; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">-What's your most valuable writing tip?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 9pt;"><span style="color: #f874cc; font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC'; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Hmmm….that’s a good one. Get it all out on paper. Or screen for most people. You can go back and edit the crap out of it later. Even if you’re at a scene that you know you’ll probably cut or completely change, but you need filler to get to the next scene that you’re going to rock, put it on that screen.</span><span style="font-family: 'Tempus Sans ITC';"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /><br />Diananoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879646968629059969.post-6185418896725197952012-08-31T15:41:00.002-07:002012-08-31T15:41:19.652-07:00Music...Makes the people...Come together...<em>Friday, Friday, gotta get down cause it's Friday</em>. Ha, now you have that song stuck in your head! My favorite cover artist for that particular song is my four year old. :) She only knows the chourus, but it's so dang cute! Anyway, music on the brain. Obviously. Most the time I'm okay to write with whatever noise is blaring, honking, or squeaking in the background. As long as someone isn't talking to me, I'm good. <em>Shut up, shut up, don't want to hear it!</em> Every so often though, my characters aren't quite sure what to do, and I need some music to put them in the right mood. Notice I said my characters and not me? It's totally their fault. For example, the other day I was writing a scene in which my MC was out with a&nbsp;hot guy, but their dialogue just wasn't working. They were both being kind of quiet and boring. I wanted sexy and mysterious. So, I put on Haunted by Evanescence. Boom! Sexy and mysterious dialogue and it just escalated from there. <em>You're unbelievable!</em>&nbsp;What do you do when your characters aren't quite cooperating? Bonus points to whoever can name the artist for each of the songs I've quoted!<br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/355/AB9CB4A107FCDA8E9AFB70F6196D85B4.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" />Diananoreply@blogger.com0